• New signing was the top-scoring Under-20 player in Brazilian football this year• Presence of Portuguese-speaking Silva was instrumental in player’s decision

Watford have completed the signing of the Brazilian forward Richarlison from Fluminense for a fee of around £11.5m after the player was granted a work permit at an appeal hearing. The news comes as a considerable relief for Watford, who while optimistic about their chances of convincing the Football Association about the player’s merit, also had to prepare for the possibility of watching plans to augment their attack derailed for the second time this summer.

In June they failed with a second work permit application for Adalberto Penaranda, who had just captained Venezuela to the final of the Under-20 World Cup, where he missed a penalty as his team lost 1-0 to England. Paul Simpson, the coach of the England side, was among those to speak at the work permit hearing in support of the application but the player will instead spend the coming season on loan at Málaga.